


Siviron

by sithney



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:42:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sithney/pseuds/sithney
Summary: Exposition! More to come soon.





	Siviron

“Siviron has had a fairly tumultuous history. The last great war from almost 2000 years ago ended with a fragile peace. Now, most of the world is ruled by vampires, governed by the Septumvirate, a high council made up of the kings and queens of the 7 major houses of vampires. The rest of the world is controlled by the Archelon, a church-like entity made up of celestial beings, who are trying to eradicate the vampires and control the humans on their own terms. It’s not good to be a human right now, that’s for sure, but they have found a home of their own, a free city called Bastion, where humans can thrive and do what they want to. Bastion is the capital of the wastelands, an area of Siviron not even the shifters dare travel through, war torn and scarred. The land won’t ever recover, which is maybe while the humans have settled there in safety of the world around them. The lands controlled by the vampire houses have a magical feel to them, cloudy and overcast most of the time with very little sunlight. The land has regrown, reclaimed the ruins that are scattered across the rural areas, and supported the growth and expansion of the towns and cities under each House’s control. No vampire has ever stepped into the land controlled by the Archelon and lived to describe it. Belle? Are you even listening to me?”  
“Yes Micah” Belle yawned at him and went back to looking out the window. History is actually the most boring thing to listen to someone talk about.  
____________________________________________________________________

“Belle.”  
Groaning, Belle rolled over in her bed and pulled the covers up over her head. There was not enough sleep in the world to prepare her for what her father was about to say.  
“Belle, I have brought you a dress to wear to the festival in a couple of days. I can get an attendant to help you pack if you need but we have to leave within the next 2 hours or we will never get there in time.”  
“Not interested.” Belle grumbled from her nest of blankets. The blood moon festival this year was hosted by House Invidia and she would have to endure way too much of her aunt’s unbearable company. Not something she was ever going to attend, especially since her uncle was going to be there as well. It was a good day when she didn’t have to speak to her uncle.  
The door opened softly and she knew who it was before she even heard his soft footsteps across the floor. She opened her eyes and peeked out from under the covers to watch him approach her father at the foot of the bed. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered him crawling into bed with her the previous day and she buried herself under the covers again.  
“You called for me Elliot?”  
“Yes Adair, my daughter seems to need help getting ready for the festival. Please see to it that she is dressed, packed, and presentable, in 2 hours when the carriage is departing.”  
“Of course, it would be my...pleasure”  
Belle could feel the heat coming off of her, taking a chance to look at him and seeing the desire in his eyes and the smirk on his face. The moment her father closed the door behind him, Adair’s shirt was off and he was crawling on top of her. His breath was hot against her neck as he whispered against her.  
“You let him kill me.”  
____________________________________________________________________

Gasping she jolted forward, quickly scanning the small carriage trying to remember where she was.  
“It’s been almost 100 years since he died and you are still muttering his name in your sleep. You should probably make more of an effort to forget him and move on. Especially considering that you were allowed to ride with me and not with someone who would have used that against you. You could also stand to actually pay attention to my history lessons.”  
Belle glared at her cousin, Micah was right after all just like always, but that wouldn’t stop her from being irritated about it. After a few minutes he chuckled.  
“You know what will make you feel better? You should see the dress our uncle sent to have you wear during the festival. It is the most hideous thing that I have ever seen and man let me tell you, I have seen some awful outfits.” Laughing harder every second Micah slowly pulled the dress out of the box Jean Claude gave them as they were packing up. The dress in question was a very pale lavender color with very full skirts, intricate pale green beading on the corset, and puffy sleeves. The moment she saw the dress, Belle couldn’t help but join Micah in his laughter. “Wow. This looks like something he tried to give to pretty little Mira with her blond hair and blue eyes, but that definitely clashes with my complexion and black hair. It’s a good thing that I didn’t leave this to my uncle and secretly packed a few better options.” Leaning out the window of the carriage, Belle had her attendant hand her down a different box.  
“Here, Belle, let me do your hair while you get dressed, otherwise we will will be late”

Once the carriage had stopped, Belle stepped out after Micah and grinned at the sight of her uncle’s angry face. She knew that she would pay for it later by not wearing the dress he picked for her, but it was worth the look on everyone else’s face at the sight of her in the skin tight lace dress that showed off more than it covered. She took a small branch out of the carriage behind her and tucked it into the back of her hair, small wild roses bloomed on the branch the moment it was in place.  
“Belle. You definitely look acceptable. Perhaps I can finally find you a husband.”  
“Uncle. You know I seem to always be lacking in the charm required to keep someone close. You might need to try a bit harder than you have been.”  
“Just come with me, the festival is starting and you need to be on display for all the eligible nobles.”

Belle fell in line behind her uncle and his wife, silently walking with one hand on Micah’s arm for stability while they made their way to their seats. The festival started just like they always do, with a long-winded and monotonous speech from the hosting house, various toasts, lukewarm cheering, her uncle pointing out all the eligible bachelors from each house, and boring combat. After dozing in her chair for almost an hour, Belle was startled awake when Micah leaned over to her and touched her arm. “Belle, your uncle finally got up to visit with people, you are free to make your escape. I’ll cover for you as long as I can.”  
She jumped to her feet and started making her way back towards the carriages, she had more important things to do than to be paraded around yet another festival as if she was an object to be sold at auction. The moment she got far enough away from the festival grounds, a carriage pulled up in front of her, and her attendant jumped down from the top to help her inside.  
“We have to hurry if we are to make it in time Sebastian, I was hoping to have left sooner.”  
“Yes Princess, we will make sure you get there in time before he has been transferred.”

As time passed in the carriage ride to the blood pits just outside of Vangloria land, Belle grew more and more anxious. He was retiring. It was a kind way to describe someone not fit for sport anymore, someone who was about to be sent to the farms and sacrificed. Someone who wouldn’t be able to help her with her plan. A small part of her, ever so small, knew she didn’t want to lose him and it wasn’t related to her plan, but she waved the thoughts away. Weakness was abused in her house, that was made very clear. Sighing loudly, she stared out the window. She hadn’t seen him in nearly 15 years, why was she so drawn to him in the first place?  
____________________________________________________________________

“Belle, I’ve been told that there was a new up and coming fighter in the pits outside of town. Some scrappy kid who is very talented, do you want to come with me to watch the next match?”  
“A kid? Was he raised in the pits? That’s probably why he is so talented. I’m not sure, Micah.”  
“Come on, just come to one match with me, I’m sure you will like him, plus after the festival in a few months I’m going to have to go back home, and it will probably be another 15 years before my mother will let me come back. Let’s enjoy the remaining time we have together!”  
“Ugh. Fine. I’ll go with you.”  
The moment she saw him she felt a pull towards him, almost a magnetic attraction, but definitely something drawing her to him. After the match, she rushed down to the cages to inspect him more closely. It was there for sure, a small hit of magical affinity. A potential so rare, it was almost unheard of in humans that were raised outside of Bastion. He was young though, maybe 13 to 15 at best, and had a lot of growth needed. After a few minutes of watching him through the bars as he stared at the ground, she grabbed a nearby guard and asked about him.  
“The kid? He was born and raised here in the pits, probably already one of the best fighters we have. His career could go far, and he definitely has a lot of potential strength. The bookies are really excited about him right now since he doesn’t look all that powerful, but he hasn’t lost a single match yet since he started a couple months ago.”  
“He hasn’t lost a single match yet? He’s only a kid though.”  
“Nobody knows how he got so good at fighting, only that he is making a lot of money right now so they are keeping him as healthy as possible.”  
“What is the average retirement age of humans around here? When do they get transferred to the farms?”  
“Usually after about 15-20 years, sometimes longer if their slowed reflexes don’t get them killed. Not many out of this pit make it to retirement though.”  
“Unusual for sure.” Belle wandered back towards the cage to get a look at him once more before heading back to the castle. He might grow into exactly what she needed. She called back to the guard without taking her eyes off of him, one hand lightly touching the bars. “Say, what is his name?”  
“Canis.”   
____________________________________________________________________

Trying to control herself enough to look like she wasn’t running, Belle jumped out of the carriage before it even stopped moving and made her way towards the head guard’s office as quickly as she could, silently cursing her choice of wardrobe. As she walked in she glanced at the desk and noticed an expense letter half written asking for more money. The head guard stood and bowed to her before narrowing his eyes.  
“Princess, you don’t come here very often. To what do I owe this pleasure?”  
“I want to buy a new bodyguard from you, I’ve heard that you have only the best here.” She smiled sweetly, trying to appear harmless, but knew that barging into his office was going to come at a price. She watched him take in the full effect of the dress she was wearing and take his time before looking back up at her face.  
“I suppose I could sell a fighter to you, what are you willing to pay?”  
Smirking, she leaned against his desk. “Well, I have plenty of gold on hand to cover the going rate of most good fighters, but depending on what you think of as the best, I could be persuaded to give up more, and even add on a more unique payment.” She could see the lust light up in his eyes and smiled more, knowing he was about to be sorely disappointed.  
“Well I do have one, a real good one at that, who has retired and was set to be transferred later today. Would save me a lot of time and paperwork if I could sell him off instead. His price is high however, would you like to take a look?”  
“Oh yes, that sounds wonderful.” 

Belle followed him out of the office and grabbed his arm for the illusion of needed stability as they made their way down to the cages where the fighters were kept. “You know my uncle really doesn’t let me leave the castle very often and I am hoping that with my acquisition of a new and competent bodyguard he would allow me to do some more traveling, maybe come and watch some of the matches here.”  
“That would probably do wonders for the morale of some of the guards here, myself included. You really are the people’s princess and I am sure the entire house would love to see you more often.” Belle smiled more the moment he rested his free hand on hers, she had him wrapped around her finger and he didn’t even realize it. As they walked into the underground area where the fighters were kept, she started to feel the pull towards him, even stronger than the first time she saw him. “Here he is, his name is Canis, he has made a lot of money for us over the years. Canis! Come here and let me introduce you to our guest.”

The world slowed for her as she watched Canis walk towards the bars of his cage. He had grown into quite the man in the last 15 years. His shaggy dark hair covered some of the scars across his face that disappeared into a pretty well maintained beard. He appeared to be the same height as her, a little short for most human males in the fighting pits, but it was his eyes that caught her. When he looked at her it was like she was drowning, a shade of hazel that mimicked the blue green hues of the ocean at night. His magical affinity had grown more powerful since the last time she had seen him, how come the other vampires hadn’t noticed it yet?  
“Canis this is Belle, one of House Vangloria’s princesses, and might I add probably the most beautiful of them all.”  
Pretending to act bashful at the head guards comment allowed Belle to gather her mind quickly, she glanced to the side and noticed Sebastian walking towards them. She was hoping that Micah could have given her more time.  
“He is perfect, and here is my offer. I noticed you had a letter addressed to my uncle upstairs on your desk, a request for more money. He has always been very stingy with approving these requests over the last few years. How about I give you…” She reached out to Sebastian as he caught up with them and took a small pouch from his hand. “This pouch of 500 gold pieces that I have, and if you hurry and finish that letter I can deliver it straight to the queen and bypass my uncle’s greedy ways. I assure you that my grandmother is much more generous.”  
“I was hoping for a different payment but if this allows me to see you more often and get my request approved, I’ll take it. I will let you get him ready as I finish my request.” He unlocked the cage after taking the pouch from her hand and made his way back to his office.

The moment that he was out of sight, Belle turned back to Canis. “Hurry and grab your things, you will be serving me as a bodyguard from now on, but if we don’t make it back home before my uncle does this is going to end badly for both of us. We can talk more on the way there.”  
“Yes, my lady.” His voice was almost impossibly deep, and a small flutter in her stomach warned her that this was going to be harder than she thought. She turned on her heel and made her way back to the carriage, trusting that he was behind her. How she was going to explain this to her uncle, she had no idea yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Exposition! More to come soon.


End file.
